Friday, 27 March 2015

David Jennings: Sonatina op.2 no. 2 for piano

The ‘sonatina’ is usually
regarded as the preserve of the learning pianist. The first one that I tackled
more than forty five years ago was Beethoven’s Sonatina in G (anh.5). Other
names that may have haunted the neophyte are Clementi, Kuhlau and Diabelli.
There are excellent albums of sonatinas and rondos published by Schirmer that
have been popular for many years.

I recall being delighted by a short
album edited by the British composer Alec Rowley, Early English Sonatinas, which contained straightforward music by
Duncombe, Wilton, Attwood, Hook, Camidge and Jones. I still play these
delightful pieces.

The basic concept of a Sonatina
is a ‘short, easy or otherwise ‘light’ Sonata.’ (Grove) The most common structural feature of this
form is the lack of, or minimal, development in the opening movement.

The Sonatina became common in
the late classical period with examples written for violin and piano and piano
solo. As Grove points out, the form was largely forgotten by Romantic composers
(although Schumann, Heller and Kirchner did write examples) but was
successfully revived in the 20th century. Popular sonatinas include
those by John Ireland and Maurice Ravel. Neither of these works is easy or
suitable for anything less than a very good ‘Grade 8’.

Brief
Biography

David Jennings is a West Riding composer, who
was born in Sheffield in 1972. He studied music at Durham University under the
auspices of the Barnsley-born composer John Casken (b.1949). Later, he was to
continue with post-graduate studies across the Pennines at Manchester
University, again with Casken. At
present he lives and works in Lancashire, near Morecambe. He is a member of the
Lakeland Composers
group.

Jennings
has a great interest in art, especially the 19th century English
water-colourists, which he feels are ‘an inspiring marriage of technique and
expression’. It is a quality that he exhibits clearly in his music. Northumberland and Yorkshire are particularly
important to his aesthetic; however I can sense the salt tang of sea breezes
from Morecambe Bay in some of his music.

From a
musical perspective, there are a number of influences and trajectories including
Frederick Delius, Kenneth Leighton, George Gershwin and Frank Bridge. There is
also a distinct feel of Lennox Berkeley and the French composer Francis
Poulenc.

Genesis and Composition

David
Jennings’s Sonatina op.2 no.2 was written in the mid-nineteen-eighties when the
composer was a teenager. Like Benjamin
Britten’s Simple Symphony and Edward
Elgar’s Wand of Youth Suites Jennings
chose to exhume this music from his files and subject it to a little reworking.
These 2007 changes were not radical: the
opening Prelude had the reiteration of the ‘exposition’ section removed. The
reason adduced for this was so that he could ‘subtly vary the repetition of
each theme.’ The coda was extended slightly.

The most significant
change was in the second movement ‘Nocturne’. Here Jennings added a middle
section making the piece into ternary rather than binary form. In both versions
of this work the repetition of the opening section is varied. The least number of changes were made to the
final ‘moto perpetuo’ with only ‘a few extra dynamics added for effect’. The work is dedicated to the composer’s
father, Brian Jennings, who sadly passed away in 2013 aged 83.

David Jennings has suggested
that his Sonatinas belong to the tradition of Robert Schumann. In the same way as
Schumann’s Album for Children (Albumfür die Jugend) and the Kinderszenen are not for children per se, Jennings has not presumed
that his sonatinas are ‘grade pieces’ suitable for beginners. He has struck a good balance between innocence
and subtlety. This is urbane and
nostalgic music that never becomes mawkish or banal. Jennings writes that ‘These…
[sonatinas] offer an innocence that is rare in music today; my aim was to make
them simple but not simplistic, nostalgic but never sentimental.’ It has been suggested that the
first two of Jennings’s Sonatinas have an English quality to them that has its
roots in the music of Dowland and the later Jacobean composers.

Analysis

David Jennings’s Sonatina No.2
is written in three short movements, the nominal key being A minor/major. It
lasts for approximately 9 minutes:-

1.Prelude
- Allegro amabile

2.Nocturne
- Adagio con tenerezza

3.Moto
perpetuo - Allegretto con moto

The opening Prelude is a little more complex in its
structure than would normally be expected in a sonatina: the standard
‘exposition, development and recapitulation’ are all clearly apparent. The first theme is preceded by a two bar
figure on the left hand which is repeated a number of times during the exposition.
The theme itself has a folk song sound to it which nods towards the English
renaissance music of Dowland. It is repeated with minor changes to the accompaniment.
After a short bridge passage, the second
theme, which also has the sound of a folk tune, is heard. This is signed as ‘semplice e express.’ and
is written in the key of F major. It is then played an octave higher. There is a short development section which
makes use of elements of the two main themes provided with varied
accompaniment, including a beautiful section that has running quavers in the
left hand against the second theme in the right. The work closes with a
recapitulation of the two themes, an attractive gesture towards a whole-tone
scale and a quiet coda.

The ‘Nocturne’ could be described as ‘Satie meets The
Beatles’. The progress of this music seems to be suspended in time. The
elements of this movement are first inversion triads presented in a gentle rocking
motion. These move between hands. A simple melody that could be a cue for a pop
song is presented that also moves between hands. A short ‘grandioso’ section
lasting a mere three bars complete with ‘forte’ staccato triads in various
inversions on the right hand with octaves playing the melody on the left
follows before the opening theme repeats.

The middle section is in considerable contrast to what has
passed. The left hand plays arpeggiated chords whilst the right presents a subtle
and more complex version of the main theme. The opening figure then returns
transposed into E flat major alternating with a major seventh chord on E.
Eventually the opening theme reappears with a very subtle change to the harmony
in the bass.

The ‘moto perpetuo’ is a moderately fast movement that is conceived
as a miniature rondo. The main theme is gentle and is presented by step or
small melodic interval accompanied by faster moving triplets. The first note of
each triplet group is emphasised: it gives a definite ‘Bach’ feel to this
music. The first episode consists of running triplets played at the octave.
After the main theme, the second episode is similar to the first except that it
is played in tenths. The final presentation of the main melody is concluded by
a short coda. The left hand plays ostinato triplets whilst the right parodies the
main theme. The work ends with an A major chord. Jennings has used the same metre
throughout the ‘moto perpetuo’. The dynamics are restrained, rising only to a
‘forte’ momentarily in the closing bars. Accidentals are used ornamentally
rather than structurally.

Sonatina No.2 is probably a ‘good’
Grade 6 in its level of difficultly: the composer is never condescending in his
pianistic writing. Technically, the Sonatina no.2 is demanding and is always
musically satisfying. He has not indulged in clichés but has allowed the sense
of the music to determine the pianistic style.

One of the features of David Jennings scores are the fine
watercolours on the front covers. The Sonatina No. 2 has a
painting of ‘An Island Fort’ by the water-colourist Edward Richardson
(1810-1874). This reflects the composer’s deep interest in 19th
century water-colours. All
three sonatinas were published in 2013 by Goodmusic Publishing, GM104.

First Performance

The first performance of the
Sonatina was given in the Chapel of The University of Cumbria, Lancaster on
Friday 27 June 2008. The soloist was Phillip Fawcett. The recital included a wide-ranging programme
of piano and vocal music featuring a number of soloists. All three of Jennings Sonatinas for Piano
were presented alongside music by Copland, Gershwin, Gurney and Mozart.

‘Humble Sam’ on the Virtual Lancaster website gave a
detailed review of the concert with special attention to Jennings’s music.
After noting the fact that it is unusual ‘that one experiences a piece of
classical music with the composer in the audience’ he continues by suggesting
that it ‘is even less often that one experiences a piece of modern Classical
music that is not dreadful.’

He gets to the core of his review
by noting that ‘Jennings’s sonatinas were neither ridiculously reactionary nor
horribly modern: they were delightful little pieces combining both traditional
and modern aspects of composition.’ He
goes on to point out that the first two examples have musical references to
Jacobean and Renaissance music whilst the third has been inspired by Debussy. ‘Humble
Sam’ concluded his review by noting that ‘[Phillip] Fawcett’s playing was
effortless, as he (Fawcett) and Jennings collaborate on a regular basis.’

On
Record

In 2012 the Divine Art
CD label produced a retrospective of David Jennings piano music. (dda25110). This
included the Harvest Moon suite,
Three Lyrical Pieces, the Three Sonatinas as well as the impressive Piano Sonata.

Maria
Nocklin writing in Fanfare has noted
the ‘mix
traditional melody with the modern infrastructure, they also combine musical
maturi­ty with a natural exuberance.’ It is a good description of all three
sonatinas.

Gary Higginson on MusicWeb International considered that the three
Sonatinas ‘are each diatonic and strongly melodious. The lines tend sometimes
towards modality and sometimes have a slightly French touch. Melodies are
exchanged between the hands in a romantic, wistful, nostalgic, uplifting and
often gentle manner that I find quite captivating.’

Two versions of the Sonatina
op.2 no.2 are available on YouTube. They are played in different, but equally
effective styles.

Sonatina No.2 can be played as a
standalone work. However, I believe that the ideal way of approaching this music
is to hear it as a part of the cycle of Three Sonatinas – in the order that the
composer has published them.

With
grateful thanks to David Jennings for his support in writing this essay.

About Me

I am well over fifty years old: the end of the run of baby boomers! I was born in Glasgow, moving south to York in the late ‘seventies. I now work in London.
My main interest is British Music from the nineteenth century onwards.
I love the ‘arch-typical’ English countryside – and have always wanted to ‘Go West, Boy’.
A. E. Housman and the ‘Georgian’ poets are a huge influence on my aesthetic. I have spent much of my life looking for the ‘Land of Lost Content’ and only occasionally glimpsed it…somewhere in…???
My recently published work includes essays on Ivor Gurney’s song ‘On Wenlock Edge’ for the Gurney Society Journal, The Music of Marion Scott and a study of Janet Hamilton’s songs for the British Music Society Journal, and the composer Muriel Herbert for the Housman Society.
I have contributed to the journals of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, the Finzi Society, and the Bliss Society, the Berkeley Society, the BMS Newsletter and regular CD reviews for MusicWeb International.